Published letters, diaries, and facsimile manuscripts can be found in Duke's catalog and others by searching for the author's name and subject keywords such as: sources, diaries, interviews, personal narratives, correspondence, etc.
Search facsimiles of 15,000 broadsides printed between 1820 and 1900 and 15,000 pieces of ephemera printed between 1749 and 1900 from the American Antiquarian Society.
Search for primary sources on every aspect of 17th and 18th century American life
Search for primary sources (American books, pamphlets and broadsides) published in the first nineteen years of the nineteenth century (1801-1819)
Search for news articles from major African-American newspapers published in the United States during the 19th century
Search for news articles from the New York Times from 1851-2019
Search 550 works by authors of African or African-American descent. Genres include personal narratives, autobiographies, histories, expedition reports, military reports, novels, essays, poems and musical compositions.
Search across the complete text of eleven major editions of Shakespeare's works, and hundreds of adaptations from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.
Search for primary sources from medieval and early modern Great Britain
Search for primary sources from thinkers and writers of the 18th century
Search for primary sources related to Southern history, literature and culture from the colonial period through the first decades of the twentieth century. This is an open access database.
Finding aids for selected representative rare book and manuscript collections:
Researchers are encouraged to contact Rubenstein for information about the many materials not represented here!
When using the collection, first register as a researcher to view materials in the Rubenstein reading room, located on the third floor of Perkins Library.
Materials can be requested using links in the catalog or collections guides. Most Rubenstein materials are housed off-site and require 2 full business days for delivery to the reading room.
